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Flagstaff Fire: Blaze west of Boulder is 40 percent contained, but may burn for months

By Joe Rubino, Mitchell Byars and Laura Snider, Camera staff writers

Posted:
06/28/2012 07:53:18 AM MDT

Updated:
06/29/2012 05:47:08 AM MDT

Brent Meyers, left, of the Missoula, Mont., Fire Department stands under a tree to stay out of the rain Thursday afternoon while Philip Keating and others hide under the cover of a fire truck at Cragmoor Road in Boulder, where several departments gathered to work on the Flagstaff Fire line breaks to protect the neighborhoods of south Boulder. The firefighters were waiting out the rain in case of a lightning strike before going back to work. (RACHEL WOOLF)

Residents of the 28 houses evacuated west of Boulder on Tuesday were allowed to return home Thursday after crews made progress fighting the Flagstaff Fire, but it might be months before fire is extinguished, officials said.

The blaze, about 300 acres in size, is 40 percent contained, officials said Thursday night.

A California-based federal team of "hot shot" firefighters took over the efforts early Thursday and established a goal of 100 percent containment by Saturday.

"All we've done really is come in and helped (local fire crews) back off this one fire and continue to support the emergency needs of the city and the county," said Sean Collins, liaison for the federal team, at a briefing Thursday night. "It's looking very good at this time, but we'll stay here until we're deployed elsewhere."

Collins said 330 firefighters are part of the team assigned the fire, and 50 of those were on call overnight in case the fire flared.

After shoring up containment lines on the fire's western edge Thursday -- which allowed officials to lift all evacuation orders -- the crews will focus Friday on containing the fire on its challenging eastern edge, which is in steep, rugged terrain, Collins said. They'll be assisted by helicopter drops of food, water and fuel.

But even if full containment is reached by Saturday, area residents may see smoke rising from the burn zone until the fall.

"It's quite possible that we are going to be seeing smoke in the area for pretty much the rest of the summer," Collins said. "Residents need to be mindful that we are not going to be able to put it out completely. The goal is to secure the perimeter, and it will continue burning deep inside the middle."

Collins said the federal team will ensure the perimeter of the fire is secure and will dig trenches to keep material from rolling downhill and sparking another blaze, but he said residents who are worried about the fire after the federal team leaves should call 911.

Flagstaff Road remains closed to non-residents, but the evacuation orders for 28 homes on Flagstaff Road and Bison Drive were lifted at 3 p.m. Thursday. City trails and open space in the area will remain closed until the fire is contained, Boulder County Sheriff's Cmdr. Rick Brough said.

The assistance of federal crews was useful Thursday, when local firefighters responded to 19 smoke reports resulting from lightning strikes from 1 to 7 p.m., Brough said. Three of those resulted in minor fires fought by local crews, receiving some air support from the federal team.

The 50-person crew watching the Flagstaff Fire lines Thursday night was also assigned to help with any new lightning starts overnight, Collins said.

On Wednesday night, after firefighters had made good progress on the blaze under favorable weather conditions, pre-evacuation orders for 2,416 south Boulder residents were lifted.

Crews were also helped by some precipitation and higher humidity Thursday.

Collins is expecting similar conditions in the fire zone Friday, with temperatures in the 80s to low 90s, depending on elevation, and a chance of rain in the afternoon. Wind gusts in the fire zone may range from 12 to 25 mph in some areas, he said.

Boulder Sheriff Joe Pelle on Thursday applauded the hard work of local crews before the federal team took over.

"(They) did a great job the last couple days, but they're also exhausted," he said. "We're in much better shape than a few days ago, but we're not out of danger yet."

The Flagstaff Fire was first reported at about 1:15 p.m. Tuesday in the area of Bison Drive near Walker Ranch after a lightning storm moved through the area. The fire is largely burning on the western flanks of Bear Peak and South Boulder Peak on open space land. No structures have been burned or are threatened.

The Red Cross placed the evacuation shelter at the East Boulder Recreation Center on standby after only three people stayed overnight Wednesday. The center will not be open, but staff and resources will remain on site in case the fire flares up again.

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